“I hope that’s not our dinner,” she said softly, snapping a photo of the naked buck.
“Nope, at least not this one,” the man said, taking a large knife and cutting chunks of meat with butcher-like precision.
“I’m going to be sick,” Cabrina said.
Tameka, annoyed by her friend’s behavior, grabbed her by the arm. “Hey Nate, thanks for having us over. This is Cabrina, Gabe’s wife. I’m going to take her inside.”
Nathaniel Mann peered from behind the carcass, looking at Gabriel. “Your wife? There is hope for your wicked soul after all.”
“I would say it was good to see you again, but I am not prone to lying,” Gabe said to Mann, unable to shake his hand, which was covered in deer blood and guts.
“Whatever,” Mann said. “Grab a few knives and let’s get this buck broken down so we can head in for dinner.”
Gabriel wasn’t a hunter, but he could field dress an animal with the best of them. It took less than 30 minutes with the three of them cutting up the 180-pound buck separating the back strap, roasts, and chops. A bowl sat on the table that would be used for the scraps Nate saved to make his sausage.
“I brought you some fish in exchange for a couple pounds of sausage,” Zeke said.
“I brought two bottles of wine in exchange for this backstrap,” Gabriel offered.
Nate smiled. “Men after my own heart. Now, if one of you could get your hands on some really good cheese, I would be mighty obliged.”
They worked in tandem as the women went inside. Cabrina was dragging the garbage bag with the bassinette behind her, confused and feeling nauseous and frustrated. None of this made sense. The man was in his backyard skinning Bambi. I am dragging a bassinette in a garbage bag. What did he mean, not this one? Are we eating another one for dinner? I’m going to be sick. Wait, she introduced me as Gabe’s wife, not her friend.
Tameka tapped at the door, waiting for an answer. A black woman with a warm smile answered. From what Cabrina could see, the home was spacious and inviting, but it was still a cabin. She could see where the additions had been made to enlarge it and from an insurance perspective, her father’s company wouldn’t take the risk on the property. It was fine for people who liked to rough it, and the living room was open and inviting. Maybe the evening wouldn’t be a complete bust after all.
“Hi, I’m Sharon Mann. Welcome, come on inside,” the lady said.
IT TURNED OUT TO BE quite possibly the most enjoyable evening Cabrina had spent in many years, outside of her wedding night with Gabriel. Although it began with a rocky start, she soon learned that Sharon wasn’t a woman to test or trifle with. The lady was also very perceptive.
“This is a very nice home,” Cabrina started although her eyes took in the homemade, amatuer art on the walls, the cheap rugs, and handmade furniture. It was rustic chic if such a thing existed.
“Yes, but from what I understand, it began as the same size as the one that Tameka and Zeke own. As soon as the weather breaks, Nate and Zeke are going to get started on their room expansions. I hate to admit this, but I think my husband is excited to build something again,” Sharon offered.
Tameka handed Cabrina the baby, and she opened the garbage bag and set up the bassinette and placed a sleeping Michelle in the bed. To her surprise, the baby didn’t cry or wake up during the noisy ride. However, Tameka was still bothered by the lack of safety in riding an infant on an ATV.
“I’m not sure why we took the ATV’s over instead of driving,” Cabrina said, suddenly hungry at the smell of freshly baked bread.
“Our security system is armed, and disarming it is a pain in the ass. The night system is more detailed than the day system and we have to stay vigilant,” Sharon said with a smile.
Cabrina thought they were all nuts. “If it is so dangerous here, then why do you stay?”
“Because this is our home and no redneck meth dealing hillbilly is going to tell us otherwise. Besides, they know better than to fuck with my husband, although one or two may feel like getting lucky and try,” she told Cabrina.
“If they won’t mess with your husband, then why the extra measures?”
“They won’t come for Nate, but for Zeke and Tameka once they are no longer on their own land,” she said. “They may try something here although they know better than to mess with Zeke as well.”
“Our gate has been secured,” Tameka said with a knowing smile shared between the two women.
“Okay, so they don’t come through the gate. They can still come through the wood line,” Cabrina said, feeling as if she were the only woman in the room operating on common sense.
“There is an electric fence that runs from the Mann’s front property line to the edge of the Browning’s on the other side of us. Anyone comes through the wood line is going to be in for a shock,” Tameka said with a grin at her play on words.
“I’m sorry, but I am a bit taken aback by all of this. This is not making sense to me. Is your husband some kind of tough guy?”
“Oh, you are one of those,” Sharon said, taking the bottles of wine. Tameka moved about the kitchen pulling out wine glasses and setting the table.
“One of those! Excuse me?” Cabrina said, taking offense.
“Yes, one of those spoiled little rich girls who act as if you don’t know how the world works. Then allow me to provide you an education and if you want to add a few bucks to my tip jar, please feel free,” she said to Cabrina, who had folded her arms in defense.
“Please by all means, educate me,” she said in a huff.
Cabrina could not help but be offended that Tameka didn’t explain everything better. She could not help but be offended that Tameka didn’t come to her defense against this woman. Moreover, she couldn’t help but be offended that this woman had taken her place in Tameka’s life. She felt like a jealous lover seeing her ex with someone knew. And it hurt far more than it should have.
“The three of us are married to bad men,” Sharon said. “They are trained to assess a threat and take it down in a reflexive response. Although your husband hides behind a Bible, he is trained to kill. He is a government agent, trained to take out the bad guys whom he deems a threat, the same as Zeke, and similar to my husband. We live off the grid and off the land because we are free to enjoy our lives on our terms and you need to recognize right here and right now, that when you get home, the same security measures surround your house.”
Cabrina’s jaw hung slack.
“Furthermore, you need to stop acting as if you are about to go and live in a castle,” Sharon told her. “Gabriel is a CIA operative. His job is to spy on bad people and neutralize them if necessary, so get off your high horse, lady. You need to learn to fire a weapon, pluck a chicken and dress a goose if he is to keep his cover.”
“How do you know all of this? How do you know so much about my husband?”
“Easy, he married me and Nate at his home,” Sharon said with an eyebrow arched. Tameka, unfazed by it all, brought the salad and bread to the table, along with the wine. She went out the back door, leaning over the railing, calling for the men to come in for dinner.
“I will let you know, Sharon that I don’t appreciate all of this unfettered hostility towards me. You don’t know me,” Cabrina said, hurt by the woman’s words.
“Hostility? You are the one who walked in my door with your nose turned up in the air in judgment, like you are better than us. I saw you assess everything in here from the art on my walls to the rugs. You aren’t any better than Tameka or me,” Sharon said. “Your husband is a trained assassin who likes to introduce himself as an ordained minister. He’s not. He is programmed to be judge, jury, and executioner on the spot just as is Zeke when he makes a threat assessment.”
“And your husband?”
“My husband is a contractor,” she said with her mouth turned sideways, daring Cabrina to question.
“I take it contractor means that he is a contract assassin. Talk about being judgmental. Yo
u are mighty hard on Gabriel, a man who saved your life by giving you and I assume your child who was in danger a new identity and just so we are clear, I know exactly who I married, so you and your tip jar are going to stay empty unless I decide to add a few gold coins of fuck you to it,” Cabrina said.
Sharon smiled at her. “You are nothing like you let on when you walked through the door,” she said.
“So where does this leave us?”
“It leaves us right where we are. You are one of us now. So, take a seat, appreciate this dinner that I have labored over for hours to make, have a glass of wine, and enjoy the company,” Sharon told her.
Cabrina offered a weak smile.
“Okay, let’s start over,” she said. “I am Cabrina Neary, Gabriel’s wife. Thank you for having us over. We brought wine and the guys brought some fresh fish they caught this morning.”
She extended her hand for a shake. Sharon slapped it away and gave her a hug instead, which Cabrina returned.
“I look forward to coming to your home for a visit, but I do have two children,” Sharon said. “The other one wore himself out and is sleeping. Thank goodness for small favors.”
Women and children. This woman was a member of her husband’s church. The baby was only six months old by her calculations and the other child must have been what prompted Gabriel to provide her membership to his congregation. There was a story here, but she wouldn’t ask questions. She didn’t need to. It was a club. She was now a member.
I’ll take it. I will enjoy the evening with these new friends and keep my mouth quiet. Based on the information Sharon had provided, she did have a great deal to learn in order to fit into her husband’s world. A tingling feeling of excitement surged through her. She was ready to relax and have some fun.
“I KID YOU NOT,” GABRIEL said. “They had a human-sized sex doll with the giant vibrating instrument in the hotel room we booked which quivered along with its tongue. Did I mention the eyes moved as well on their own? It was so disturbing it made me curse.”
“What were they going to do with the doll?” Nate asked.
“It had a rather large vibrating guy tool Mann! You don’t have to stretch your imagination. That doll, Jimbo was his name-o, was looking at me like, save me,” Gabe said as everyone at the table burst into laughter.
“That’s nothing,” Cabrina said. “Her husband stole four bottles of wine and all of our underwear. My dirty pair, his wife Judy had on when we walked into the room.”
“That’s just nasty,” Tameka said.
“That’s what she said,” Gabriel responded, getting more laughs. “The first night, Judy, that’s the woman, pulled out this pink and purple alien probing device. She turned that thing on and it started humming across the table coming at me like it wanted to explore my orifices or something.”
“What did you do, Cabrina?” Zeke wanted to know.
“She started yelling at Judy, ‘You nasty! You’re a nasty, nasty woman,’ to start,” Gabriel said chuckling. “I tell you, the image of that sex doll is burned in my brain.”
“For a man who doesn’t believe in violence, he sure wanted to shoot them,” Cabrina said.
“The man had on my underwear and a Batman cape and cowl!” Gabe exclaimed.
“I don’t believe any of this story,” Sharon remarked, holding the baby, Nate Jr.
“Oh yeah?” Cabrina said, taking out her phone and flipping through photos. She turned the device around to show off the image, making Zeke shudder and Tameka burst into uproarious laughter, waking Michelle.
“Daddy mentioned you had a bogie on your tail, but never in my wildest imagination could I have come up with this,” Zeke said.
“Yeah, they put an iPad mini in the car to track us,” Gabriel said. “It was unnerving.”
Sharon couldn’t help but ask, “What did they want from you?”
“To play sex games,” Cabrina said. “The couple owns an adult playground in Nashville.”
“I think I have heard it all,” Sharon said, dropping her eyes.
“While I have my phone out, can I get some pics of us at dinner?” Cabrina asked, looking at Mann.
“As long as you don’t post them on social media,” he said.
“Not a problem,” Cabrina said, adding the phone to a stand and moving around the table for a group photo. The phone flashed, capturing a moment which came to a sudden halt with a sound from the other room. The fax machine had come to life spitting out a work assignment for Nate.
“Sorry, ladies and gents. I have to cut the evening short,” Nathaniel said.
“I will get your bag,” Sharon said, asking for a moment alone with Gabriel.
“I’m on the dishes,” Tameka offered.
“I got the kids,” Zeke said.
“I’ll load up the bassinette,” Gabriel replied.
Cabrina was dumbfounded. She didn’t know what was happening. Everyone was moving about the house in a flurry. A little boy with large brown eyes and headful of curly hair materialized on the second floor. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he slowly walked down the stairs, looking for his father.
“Daddy,” Rocky said. “I heard the fax machine.”
Nathaniel walked out of his office, picking up the sleepy child placing a kiss on his forehead. “Daddy has to go to work. You are in charge until I return, okay?”
“No. It’s not okay,” Rocky said. “I don’t want you to go.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay Sport?” Nate added. “Remember that I love you and am trusting you to look after your Mom and little brother. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes Sir,” Rocky said. “I’m in charge until you return. I got this.”
Cabrina admired the understanding the child had in his role in the family unit. She took a twenty out of her wallet and left it on the counter under the sugar container for Sharon. It was her lesson learned. Everyone had a role to play in the game and she had become Gabriel’s partner in the Church of Second Chances. Like the boy, she had a job to do as his wife. I got this.
TO THE SIDE, GABRIEL held an intimate conversation with Sharon. He’d only spoken with her twice since he’d performed the wedding nuptials to Nathaniel. It had been his custom to check up on his parishioners, and this had been the first opportunity for a one on one with Sharon.
“It seems all has gone well for you with your marriage to Nate,” Gabriel said.
“Thus far, I have no complaints, only one concern,” she said softly.
“What might that be?” He asked, his face showing no emotion.
“Nate isn’t one for the church,” she whispered leaning closer to Gabriel, “however, Rocky, growing up in Venture with my cousin Hester, she had us in church every Sunday. Rocky was even baptized.”
He inquired, “Are you asking me to baptize Nate Jr?”
“I mean if you can,” she said, feeling her cheeks warm. “I don’t know if you are a real minister, or if it is just your CIA cover and all.”
“Sharon, it would be my honor to not only baptize your child but offer a prayer of blessing to Nate Jr and you as well,” he said, gathering his bag, which held his bible and oils. His attention turning to his brother and his wife. “Tameka and Zeke, can you bring Michelle over as well. Nate, can you join us too?”
Gathered in a small cluster, accompanied by a bowl of water which Gabriel blessed, mothers held their babes close to their breast while Gabriel blessed both infants, offering a prayer of thanksgiving for their safe arrivals into the lives of loving parents. A few droplets of water later, both children were baptized. The small group held hands as Gabriel prayed for the safe return of the father and friend before he left for work.
“Thank you, Gabriel,” Sharon said squeezing his arm.
“You don’t totally suck Preacher Man,” Nate said, giving Gabriel a hug making Gabriel blush at the unwanted attention. He worried about Mann and often prayed for a better means for the gentleman to make a living for his family. Family was important
to him.
“Brother in law, you are quite something,” Tameka offered, thinking she needed to find a moment to have a private conversation with him as well.
“Oh, you don’t know the half,” Cabrina offered as they all collected their things, heading back to the cabin which she was growing to hate more and more with each passing day.
Chapter 18 – The Road Ahead
Saturday morning couldn’t come soon enough for Cabrina. If she and Gabe could have left on Friday, it would have been just fine with her. She’d had enough of the one-bedroom cabin, heating water for a shower which didn’t get you clean and shoving wood in a stove in order to make a cup of coffee.
She wanted to be excited about Tameka’s new life, truthfully, she did, but her brain could not adjust to the life her friend was living. The garage, which she had dragged Cabrina out to every day, was larger than the house. It held four ATV’s plus had room for two cars, a pot-bellied stove to warm the building in the winter and a kiln. Tameka was hella excited about the kiln and making non-crooked dishes and coffee mugs.
Screw that! She could go to Target to get some dishes that match. Hell, I will send her a set as a wedding gift. Yet Cabrina remained quiet, acquiescing to an anti-climactic conclusion to a year-long saga. The three-day stay was closure for her and Tameka. They would go their separate ways, see each other on holidays and family gatherings, and smile for the camera at appropriate Kodak moments. Maybe I’m the one who needed to change.
Tameka, sat on the porch, awaiting Gabriel’s return for a private word with him before he departed. Zeke, seeing she wanted a moment alone, excused himself to allow his brother time with his wife. He hoped, he would offer her some comfort with a prayer.
“Tameka,” Gabriel said, taking a seat in the old rocker.
“Gabriel, I was wondering, I mean, I know you were the one to encourage Zeke to come here. I guess, I should say thanks, he saved my life and Michelle’s,” she said. “Let’s be honest, your idea about marrying us didn’t sit well with me at first as a cover to get us off this mountain, but thus far, everything seems to be working out. How did you know?”
Buckeye and the Babe Page 16
